


Long Distance Lesson

by RySenkari



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: COVID-19, Coronavirus, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lisa Sings, Tablet Conversation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23518894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RySenkari/pseuds/RySenkari
Summary: Darcy expresses her worry to Lisa through a tablet screen as the coronavirus pandemic keeps both of them at home. When Lisa finds herself unable to explain the situation scientifically, she has to think of a different way to calm her friend's fears, as well as her own.
Relationships: Darcy Helmandollar & Lisa Loud
Kudos: 3





	Long Distance Lesson

As Lisa sat in her bed with her tablet propped up against her legs, she continued to hear the frightened voice of her friend from the speakers.

“Lisa, I'm scared... why aren't we back in school? Why are so many people sick? Am I gonna get sick?”

Lisa had been comforting her friend Darcy for the past ten minutes, to no avail. She was so good at explaining scientific matters, and had tried her best to explain the current situation to her friend, but she was still quite poor at reassuring people, and the manner in which she spoke did little to calm Darcy.

“Darcy, I-”

“You're so smart, Lisa, just tell me what's going on! I'm so scared...!”

Lisa sighed softly, but tried to keep the patient smile on her face. She deeply cared about Darcy, and though she was annoyed at the fact that she couldn't comfort her friend, she didn't want to show it... and indeed, she felt guilty for feeling annoyed at all.

_Everyone I know is scared of this thing,_ thought Lisa.  _My family is scared. All of my friends are scared._

Lisa leaned her head back for a moment, thinking of everything that was going on in the world... and the fact that for all of her intelligence, even she hadn't been able to figure out a way to help anyone.

_And... I suppose I'm scared too._

“Darcy, even if I tried to explain the science behind the coronavirus to you, you wouldn't understand. I can't possibly make you understand. I'm trying my best to put everything in terms that you might be able to comprehend, but the truth is, only highly trained scientists know exactly what's going on, and this thing even has them stumped.”

Darcy's eyes began to well with tears, and Lisa reached out and put her hand on the screen.

“Darcy, I'm sorry... I really want to be able to explain the basics of virology to you, but it's not something they teach in kindergarten. Or in elementary school... or high school...”

Darcy sniffled.

“Okay, Lisa,” she said sadly, fear still showing in her eyes. “I just thought you could help...”

“Oh, Darcy.... I suppose I can say it's.... it's a tiny thing that gets into your body, and causes you to be sick. It's so small, you can't see it-”

“Is it on me right now?!?” shouted Darcy, putting her hands up to her cheeks before gasping. “No! Mommy says I can't touch my face! Am I gonna get sick now?”

“That's the thing, there's no way to know whether it's on you or-”

Darcy shrieked.

“Darcy, please calm down!” Lisa implored her friend, leaning in closer to the screen. “These little things get in you all the time! Sometimes it just causes a cold. Sometimes it causes you to throw up. I've been sick plenty of times before, thanks to living in a house with twelve other people. The thing about this one is that... it causes people to have to go to the hospital more than most of the other little things do. That's why everyone's so scared, because this little virus makes people more sick than the others usually do.”

“So... if I get it... I'll get _really_ sick?”

“Well... Darcy, the good news is that it doesn't make us young kids very sick. It's very rare that someone our age will end up in the hospital from getting it. So if you get it, it probably won't be any worse than getting a normal cold. You'll cough some and get a fever, but you'll probably be okay.”

“Really?” asked Darcy, sniffling again but starting to look a little less scared. “But what about mommy and daddy?”

“Well, people their age have more of a chance of having to go to the hospital, but they usually get better too.”

“And... my grandpa?”

Lisa looked a bit more nervous and looked away from the screen for a moment. She thought of Pop-Pop, down at the retirement center... and the fact that she and her family weren't going to be allowed to visit him for a while. She looked back at the screen, and Darcy could see the worry on her face.

“LISA, IS MY GRANDPA GONNA BE OKAY?!”

“Darcy... if your grandpa gets it... he'll probably be okay too. Statistically... he's more likely than not to recover. But... there's also a bigger chance that he would have to go to the hospital.”

“Oh no....” gasped Darcy, reaching to put her hands up to her face again, but then stopping. She looked sad and scared, and Lisa wanted to reach out to her, but could only put her hand on the screen. Lisa could see the tears streaking down Darcy's face, and she thought of Pop-Pop again.

“Darcy, you know I can't guarantee that we'll be okay. That's why this is so scary. You're scared, and... and I'm scared. I've been working tirelessly to develop a vaccine to this terrible disease, but I'm unable to acquire the samples I need, and even if I were able to get them, I doubt I would be able to develop a working vaccine by the end of this year.”

“Lisa... I wanna come over and play with you again!”

“Oh, I know, Darcy, I wish I could see you too. Your hugs are always so warm and comforting...” Lisa bowed her head, thinking about her family.... how all of them were stuck at home, how Lincoln and Lori couldn't go up to Great Lakes City to see Ronnie Anne and Bobby, how Leni couldn't go to the mall, how all of Lynn's sports had been canceled, how Luna and Sam couldn't go on any more dates... and she wanted desperately to be able to help them, all of them.

How she wanted desperately to be able to comfort Darcy.

“Darcy, you know how you can help out your grandpa? Just remember what I told you. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, and do it often.”

“Like in that song you sang for the class on the last day of school!” said Darcy, perking up as she remembered Lisa's song about hand washing.

“That's right! And... call him every day and see how he's doing. I'm sure he misses you.”

“I miss him too,” said Darcy. “Lisa, I'm sorry.”

“Sorry?” asked Lisa quizzically. “What are you apologizing for, you haven't done anything wrong.”

“I'm sorry I made you feel bad about not being able to help,” said Darcy. “You did a good job explaining to me. I... I know you're really really smart, and I'm not.”

“Darcy, you're very smart,” said Lisa. “You're one of the best readers in class, and you understand more of my lectures than all of the other kids, and... and I'm really glad you're my friend. I'll try my best to work up a suitable coronavirus primer for you so that you know exactly what's going on.”

Darcy smiled again, and Lisa held her tablet close, almost as if she was hugging it.

“I'll talk to you again tomorrow,” said Lisa. “Please try not to be afraid, I know it seems scary now but we'll get through this. You and me and your family and my family.”

“Lisa, can you sing me a song?” asked Darcy, still smiling warmly. “I really liked your hand washing song.”

Lisa blushed, put quite on the spot by her friend's request. She'd never been asked to sing something before. She was the one who'd come up with the idea to perform a hand washing song, and that experience had been somewhat awkward for her... but she'd do anything to make her best friend feel better.

“ _If you're feeling really scared, know that I will be right there. I will always be your friend, now until the very end_.”

“Yaaaaaay!” cheered Darcy, clapping for her friend's very short but also very sweet song. “Thank you so much Lisa, you're my best friend, thank you!”

“Of course, Darcy,” said Lisa softly, a warm smile on her blushing face. “I'll be here if you need me.”

Darcy waved to Lisa one more time before the screen went black. Lisa picked up her tablet and held it close to her chest in a warm embrace, thinking of her family as she tried her best not to think of anything else.

_I might not be able to do anything about what's going on outside this house,_ thought Lisa, though as soon as she finished her nap she'd go right back to trying.  _But I can help my best friend, and for right now, that's fine with me._

Though Lisa was still a bit sad that she couldn't see her friend in person, and a bit scared about everything going on, she still had a smile on her face as she closed her eyes and fell asleep.


End file.
